Meta announced on Friday, July 12, that it would end the measures imposed on Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in January 2023. “As the Republican Party candidate, [il] will no longer be subject to the enhanced suspension sanctions,” the California group said in an updated blog post on January 25, 2023.
In concrete terms, the billionaire was not restricted on the platforms, but subject to faster and more significant sanctions (suspension) in the event of a new violation of Meta’s regulations. “These sanctions were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances, and they did not have to be deployed,” the company stressed.
Meta justifies its decision by its “responsibility to allow political expression”: “we believe that the American people should be able to hear the presidential candidates on an equal basis.” The group also notes that the party conventions to officially nominate their candidates will take place soon, including the Republican convention next week.
Already banned for two years
Donald Trump was banned from Facebook on January 7, 2021, while he was still in power, for encouraging his supporters during the attack on the Capitol in Washington the day before. In addition to this intervention, the former White House tenant had been hammering home his theory of the “Big Lie” for months – unfounded allegations that the 2020 presidential election had been “stolen” from him, widely considered to be disinformation and a challenge to the democratic process. Most mainstream social networks, including Twitter and YouTube, had also banned him.
In June 2021, Facebook decided that the ban would last two years, and that the Republican could only return when the “risks to public safety” had “disappeared.” Once very voluble on Twitter (now X), where he had more than 85 million subscribers, Donald Trump now communicates primarily via Truth Social. But his own platform, launched in 2022, has not won over the general public.
His Facebook and YouTube accounts became active again in March 2023. His Facebook profile, followed by 34 million users, includes posts originally published on Truth Social, rally invitations, campaign videos, and memes (parody images), including attacks on his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden.